That lower order of India brought their run-scoring bats out again as India posted a massive first innings score in the first Test match against Sri Lanka at the scenic Galle International Stadium. The bowlers then put the home team in trouble at the close of play on day two.
India, after scoring nearly 400 runs on day one, would have envisaged hitting the 650-run mark, and while that did not quite happen, thanks to some solid bowling from Nuwan Pradeep, Virat Kohli's side still managed to put up a formidable score of 600 all out in 133.1 overs on the board.
There might still be a lot of time left in this Test match, however, it does look, with the big total, India have taken one result away from this Test match.
Starting the day on 399/3, with centurion Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, the plan would have been to get past 600, even 650 and bat Sri Lanka out of the game, and they did that, but not through the two premier batsmen, as India's lower middle order and lower order wagged.
As several Tests previously has shown, scoreboard pressure can make even a benign pitch – and this remains a really good batting track – look dangerous, and that is what the India bowlers banked on in the Sri Lankan innings.
Under pressure, Sri Lanka went into stumps well behind the eight ball on 154 for five, trailing India by 446 runs. The pacers – Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami – picked up the first three wickets, before a run out ended a strong partnership between Upul Tharanga (64, 93b, 10x4) and Angelo Mathews.
Mathews (54 n.o., 91b, 8x4, 1x6) is still at the crease and remains Sri Lanka's only hope, with the former captain batting alongside Dilruwan Perera, after Niroshan Dickwella was picked up by R Ashwin, who bowled with guile and control.
Sri Lanka would have been trailing by a lot more if not for Pradeep.
The fast bowler was the one who broke the century partnership between Pujara (153, 265b, 13x4) and Rahane, getting the former out caught behind with a ball that moved enough after pitching.
Rahane (57, 130b, 3x4) did not last much longer after that, throwing his bat at the first delivery of Lahiru Kumara's day to give a catch to Dimuth Karunaratne at slip.
A nice partnership of 59 between R Ashwin (47, 60b, 7x4) and Wriddhiman Saha (16, 32b, 3x4) followed, with the duo taking India to within nine runs of 500, and while the two, again, fell in quick succession, Ravindra Jadeja (15, 24b, 2x4) and Hardik Pandya, who only came in at No.8 on his Test match debut, made sure India would comfortably go past the 500-run mark.
Pandya (50, 49b, 5x4, 3x6), given a reprieve by Karunaratne early on, was quite impressive in his first innings in India whites, and while it is impossible to make a judgement on his future as a Test match player based on just this one knock, particularly considering the nature of the pitch, there were some good signs there. Especially the manner in which he kept his calm and hit the right balls to the boundary when the tail-enders Mohammed Shami (30, 30b, 3x6) and Umesh Yadav (11, 10b, 1x4, 1x6) were at the crease.
When Rahane fell, the score was 432/5, and the 168 runs that India managed to score with their final five wickets – 83 of those came off the final two wickets, through partnerships between Pandya and Shami and Pandya and Umesh – could prove to be the difference in this Test match.
